Foreword:

Hey folks! Relict has hit that stage of project development where I can start plotting out specific milestones with reasonable certainty. 

For the sake of managing expectations: please remember that I am a one-man team, and that Relict is a free project that I work on whenever I'm able.
This means that there are times when I have to prioritize paid work that comes my way, and that I am much more vulnerable in general to getting knocked off-track by random life events when compared to a bigger team that has the manpower to handle the unexpected. 

​With that in mind, this roadmap should be seen as "goals likely to be achieved," not an ironclad guarantee of any particular date. When things go smoothly and I have a chance to accomplish more than is listed below, I'll take advantage of it. But know that I've built this schedule based on what I think is sustainable, not what might happen if everything goes perfectly.

I appreciate everyone's patience while I chip away at this mammoth task I set for myself, and hope you enjoy all that's to come! -Chris
Snapshot: Current Playability Status
  • Viable. 
    • Ruleset is largely in place for playtest-level use. 
  • How to get to the next stage:
    • Refinement and balance via playtest data.
    • Filling in final gaps in Core Rules, Running The Game (mostly graphic assets). 
    • Additional content (particularly monsters & items) will help flesh out campaigns. Current selection is limited, but growing.
Floating/Ongoing Tasks 
Things being continually worked on but not tied to a specific date:
  • Short Term
    • Temporary Class Reference Sheets. 
      • Quality-of-life item that gets slotted into your character sheet, helpful for learning a class. See Warrior for a mockup/test. Would like to have these for each class, but fancy formatting isn't a priority. Hacking together  quick and dirty word docs as placeholders for now.
  • Mid Term
    • Pre-generated Characters
      • Goal is to help interested players/GMs get into a game with minimal friction, and learn the basics before tackling their own builds. Secondary objective is as a template/jumping off point for players to customize. 
      • Ideally would like two for each class. One built to play to archetypes (the Warrior pregen paired with Knight or Berserker for Minor Class, for example), and another to highlight unique/unusual combinations possible in Relict (Warrior/Necromancer, Paladin/Harlequin/Muse, etc).
  • Long Term
    • ​Community submission system for homebrew monsters/items
    • Houndsong Official campaign setting(s)
      • Some foundation already exists, on backburner for now  
  • Ongoing
    • Artwork, site fixes/refinement 

August 2023

Priority goal by end of month: Complete Running The Game section of ruleset.
  • Week of 8-14
    • Launch Plague Doctor class (complete)​
    • Fix Monsters section (complete)
      • ​Having all the playtest monsters on two pages was causing site issues - timeouts, major lag when editing, etc. Separated into categories. Should make adding new monsters much less painful. 
    • ​Get Project Roadmap page online - hey!
    • Nice-to-have: update Classes At A Glance page (complete​)
    • Stretch goal: Add 1 new monster statblock (Simple)
  • Week of 8-21
    • Launch Paladin class (complete)
    • Add 2 Monsters (1 Simple, 1 Advanced) (complete: Herald of Judgement, and Catalytic Ooze)
    • Stretch goal: implement Encounter Difficulty System 2.0 (Threat Level metrics) - complete
    • Stretch goal: Elementalist needs damage/cost rebalancing. First class I designed, based on some outdated assumptions.
  • Week of 8-28 - suffered a slip due to some unexpected life issues. Working to get back on track.
    • Running The Game complete 
    • Add 1 Monster (simple)
    • Stretch goal: add 1 Magic Item 

September 2023

Priority goal by end of month: System is ready for first sessions of "Cairn" playtest campaign. Tester character classes complete, rules solid, content enough for first few levels of adventuring. 

>>This month went off-track due to some unexpected issues on the homefront. Emergency house repairs, family health stuff, etc. Still, Running the Game is now largely completed. Short-list character classes are coming together but need a bit more time, aiming to merge them into the October schedule. Still gunning to get Cairn campaign ready for late-October sessions. <<

Planned:
  • Week of 9-4
    • Add 2 Monsters (1 Simple, 1 Advanced)
    • Launch 1 class from short list (Muse, Oracle, Marksman, Blood Mage, Harlequin, Necromancer, Scoundrel)
  • Week of 9-11
    • Launch 2 classes from short list 
    • Stretch goal: 3 classes
  • Week of 9-18
    • Launch 2 classes from short list 
    • Stretch goal: 3 classes
    • Stretch goal: add monster(s)
  • Week of 9-25
    • Chris booked for home repair project, no news expected here 

October 2023

Priority goal by end of month: TBD
  • Week of 10-2
    • Add 2 Monsters (1 Simple, 1 Advanced)
    • Launch new Class (TBD)
  • Week of 10-9
    • Add 1 Monster (Simple)
    • Add 1 Magic Item
  • Week of 10-16
    • Add 2 Monsters (1 Simple, 1 Advanced)
    • Launch new Class (TBD)
  • Week of 10-23
    • Add 1 Monster (Simple)
    • Add 1 Magic Item